A conventional binding margin setup process (margin setup) in a print process by a printer merely shifts the print positions in the right-and-left or up-and-down direction in correspondence with the binding margin. For this reason, print data may fall outside an effective print range of a paper sheet depending on the selected binding margin. Normally, since print data which falls outside the effective print range is not printed, only an unnatural print result like a partial image can be obtained.
As one related art of processes for forming a binding margin, an information processing apparatus shifts print data by a distance designated by the binding margin, reduces the print data so that an image can fall within the effective print range of a paper sheet, and transfers the shifted and reduced print data to a printing apparatus. Note that the effective print range is a maximum range in which the printing apparatus can form an image. Since this effective print range varies depending on the characteristics of a printing apparatus, it often varies in each printing apparatus. Hence, a margin cannot be normally formed or an end of an image to be formed is not formed unless the characteristics of each printing apparatus are fully considered.
Nevertheless, since this related art is premised on that the shift and reduction processes of print data associated with the binding margin are executed only on the information processing apparatus side and the printing apparatus does nothing, none of individual characteristics of a paper feed process, exhaust process, and the like of each printing apparatus are reflected. The characteristics of each printing apparatus are determined by, e.g., the paper convey direction of each paper sheet, the types of option devices that pertain to the paper feed and exhaust processes, the mounted states of such option devices, and the like. These characteristics greatly influence formation of a margin.
There are a wide variety of characteristics of printing apparatuses, and also a wide variety of ways in which the margin is used. In addition to the aforementioned binding margin, a margin is used in a punch, two-fold, Z-fold, or staple process. Such processes are also strongly restricted by a printing apparatus and paper feed and exhaust mechanisms attached to that apparatus.
Since there are a wide variety of characteristics of printing apparatuses, and also a wide variety of ways in which the margin is used, it is very difficult to recognize all combinations of them on the information processing apparatus side, and to appropriately form a margin by only a process on the information processing apparatus side.
Hence, the final layout process of a binding margin must be done on the printing apparatus side. However, even in such case, image data is preferably avoided from falling outside the effective print range.
Also, when a print job that includes a plurality of pages with different paper sizes or with different print directions undergoes a binding margin process, there are a great variety of logical combinations. Such combinations are determined by various conditions of the printing apparatus, and paper feed and exhaust mechanisms, but the binding method that the user did not intend may be used depending on these conditions. The user cannot recognize the actual binding method, and can hardly image an output result in association with the binding margin setup.